Iraqi forces regain control of two more neighborhoods in east Mosul

Iraqi soldiers pose for a picture in the Arabi neighborhood, north of Mosul, after recapturing it from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group on January 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi government forces have managed to liberate two more neighborhoods in Mosul from the clutches of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists as they try to push the extremists out of their last urban stronghold in the country.

The commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, said on Sunday that soldiers from the 71st Brigade of the 15th Division in the Iraqi Army had recaptured al-Milayeen neighborhood and al-Binaa al-Jahiz area east of the city, located some 400 kilometers north of the capital, Baghdad, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network reported.

Yarallah added that government forces had raised the Iraqi flag over several buildings in both locations.

The high-ranking Iraqi military commander also noted that troops had established control over the road linking Mosul to the northern city of Dohuk in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Iraqi soldiers patrol the Arabi neighborhood, north of Mosul, after recapturing it from Daesh Takfiri terrorist group on January 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Members of the 9th Armored Division in the Iraqi Army retook the road linking Bahwiza neighborhood in northern Mosul to the Assyrian town of Tel Keppe.

The latest territorial gains almost seal the Iraqi forces' control over the eastern bank of the Tigris River, with only Rashidiyah neighborhood left to be retaken.

Daesh forces Mosul women to hand over gold coins

Meanwhile, an unnamed local source says the so-called Supreme Audit Court of Daesh has obligated all women in the al-Dawassah neighborhood of western Mosul to donate gold coins to finance the terror outfit in battles against government soldiers.

This file photo shows Takfiri Daesh militants at an undisclosed location in Iraq.

The source went on to say that the Takfiris had threatened punishment against those who did not abide by the rules, having whipped four women in public for their refusal to take the measure.

Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic word, Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation on October 17, 2016 to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.